As a consequence of the widely publicized unsubstantiated rumors concerning a desire by Royal Ahold, Zaandam, The Netherlands, to divest U.S. Foodservice USF), Columbia, MD (ID web news 6-4-03), USF Interim CEO Bob Tobin put out this memo to employees:

"Dear Fellow associates,During the last few days the media have speculated widely on a possible divestment of U.S. Foodservice. This speculation is not the result of any official statement by either U.S. Foodservice or Ahold. As you know, Ahold is reviewing all businesses in its portfolio as part of its focus on high-performing core activities and mature, stable markets.

In my letter of last month, I expressed my confidence in U.S. Foodservice and the people that drive the business. We will assemble a leadership team that will provide you with sound answers and guidance on the important areas of the organization. We are working diligently to straighten out our affairs and to complete the audit work to ensure that we can move forward with a clean slate.

I continue to believe that we will build a solid future for our company by working together each day to exceed our customer's expectations. Time spent speculating, is time taken away from this critical goal.

Winsight is the only B2B media company providing actionable information and market intelligence to business leaders and suppliers in three of the fastest growing industries — convenience retailing, restaurants and noncommercial foodservice.